Good day at the office for Crawford last week, selling their satellite division to BFI for $100 million:
Broadcast Facilities Incorporated, a media services company owned by the private equity firm Wasserstein & Company, said on Thursday that it had purchased Crawford Communications‘ satellite services division, bolstering its presence on the East Coast.
The terms of the deal, which was the first by Wasserstein & Company since the death last fall of Bruce Wasserstein, founding partner, were not disclosed. But a source close to the transaction told DealBook that the sale was valued at more than $100 million.
Buying the Crawford division, which provides services like television origination, and production and satellite uplink equipment, will build upon B.F.I.’s existing Andrita Media Center, a big television and online media production facility on the West Coast.
Among the clients of the newly combined company are ABC, NBC Universal, ESPN, MGM and government agencies like the Defense Department.
“We are very pleased to bring these two market leaders together to create a company that is ideally positioned to take advantage of current market dynamics, including the proliferation of channels, the transition to HD and the desire of broadcasters to outsource facilities to reduce fixed costs,” Ellis Jones, B.F.I.’s chairman and the chief executive of Wasserstein & Company, said in a statement.
Can you still make money as a teleport? We’ll see about that.
SES unveiled a brave new branding scheme yesterday for naming its future space assets. As one would expect, the Luxembourgeoise countryside was typically excited beyond imagination.
Take a deep breath, sit down and read on…
Consistent with its role within SES as the provider of global and American satellite capacity, SES WORLD SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), today unveiled its updated strategic satellite fleet development plan, as well as a new naming convention for future additions to the fleet that will leverage SES’ global reach and powerful brand.
Three new advanced satellites in various stages of development and construction by Orbital Sciences Corporation are intended to replenish and expand SES WORLD SKIES’ North American fleet and will be named SES-1, SES-2 and SES-3.
SES-1 is set for launch in the spring of 2010 and will replace AMC-2 and AMC-4 at the 101° West orbital slot. Further information on launch dates and slots for SES-2 and SES-3 will be published shortly.
NSS-14, currently under construction with Space Systems/Loral and scheduled for launch in Q1 2011, has been renamed SES-4. It will replace NSS-7 and provide incremental capacity over the Atlantic Ocean with comprehensive coverage of the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. NSS-7 will then move to replace NSS-5 at 340° East.
The C-band payload of the SIRIUS 5 spacecraft, also under construction with Space Systems/Loral and scheduled for launch in Q4 2011, will be named SES-5 and reside together with the Ku-band payload of SIRIUS 5 at 5° East.
The NSS-806 replacement satellite, under negotiation with vendors, will be named SES-6.
Finally, upon closing of the Protostar-2 acquisition announced late last year, the satellite will be fully integrated into SES WORLD SKIES global fleet and renamed following the same “SES” satellite naming nomenclature.
SES-2 and SES-3 will likely be replacements for AMC-5 and AMC-1, respectively. But why, you ask? Must be a simple explanation. Aha! Allow the CEO to expand on this…
Our fleet strategy is focused purely on meeting our customers’ growing demand for telecom, television and government services delivery with the most reliable and advanced satellites that carry the most trusted and financially secure name in the industry. SES WORLD SKIES is embarking on one of the most ambitious satellite deployment initiatives in the industry to meet the strong need for ubiquitous connectivity in virtually every corner of the world.
Got that, rocket scientist?
So take AMC-1 at 103 degrees West. It was originally called Satcom H-1, with H being "hybrid," as all the previous Satcoms were either C- or Ku-band. When Americom was a part of GE, Jack Welch asked "why not call it GE-1?" So they named all future birds "GE-something." Along comes Société Européenne des Satellites, buys the Americom division from GE Capital, and renames them all as "AMC-something." I was not the only one who advocated branding all as "Satcom" again (the name dates back to 1976, but never registered as a trademark). Would have been much cleaner then — and today.
Really, SES stands for Société Européenne des Satellites. There’s your branding.
"Telecommunications Without Borders" — the NGO that’s typically first to arrive at disasters with emergency communications technology — deployed its teams in Haiti within a couple of days of the devastating earthquake. Using Inmarsat’s BGAN terminals, they were part of many "satellites to the rescue" stories in the aftermath.
Telecommunications experts from Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have been setting up communications networks in Haiti for the government, aid agencies and survivors of the 12 January earthquake.
TSF is funded by the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation and is working in co-ordination with UNICEF and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams (UNDAC). The first TSF team arrived on Wednesday 13 January and a second team flew into Port-au-Prince from Santo Domingo with a UN rescue aircraft on Friday 15 January.
TSF has set up a satellite link, mostly dedicated to UNDAC teams and to emergency responders, and multiple broadband access points for phone and Internet use in the co-ordinating and logistics centres near the airport.
TSF teams are also providing IT support to the nustah (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti). This complex, located close to the airport, gathers all United Nations agencies and NGOs.
By Saturday January 16, TSF had set up three ‘humanitarian’ phone call operations around Port au Prince, allowing local people to phone relatives — 100% were international calls, mostly to the U.S.
Obviously, the dominant satellite operators made satellite capacity available quickly, with dueling press releases from Intelsat and SES World Skies. But Eutelsat, the only geo satellite operator affiliated with TSF, was first on the scene.
A six-man team from TSF (Telecoms Sans Frontières) has already deployed a D-STAR terminal at the On Site Operations Coordination Center (OSOCC) of the United Nations Mission to Haiti near the airport in Port-au-Prince. It is at the disposal of OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and also the EC (ECHO). The satellite link is provided by ATLANTIC BIRD™ 1 and the Skypark teleport in Turin which is patching the terminal into the Internet backbone to provide DOIP and VOIP services.
Satellite capacity is beneficial, but getting the links up and running — and communicating via the Internet — is critical. They ought to consider shipping modems and antennas. SES has a SurfBeam platform on AMC-9, but the coverage of Haiti is weak, so shipping these low-cost DOCSIS-based modems may not be the best idea. AMC-6, with an iDirect platform, does offer better coverage — but the TDMA-based modems cost much more.
So what? Send them out — with pre-configured link budgets, including look angles/pointing instructions for a selection of locations in Haiti. Look, you got the good P.R. already. Make it better with more telecom donations. I’m just sayin.
London based IPp news team is using a satellite link to report on Haiti disaster, as are most news teams. [IPf – 01/16/2010]
China orbits a navigation satellite via a Chang Zheng-3C (CZ-3C) launch vehicle from the Xi Chang Satellite Launch Center to open their 2010 launch campaign. [NASA Space Flight – 01/16/2010]
Inmarsat and Sky Terra collaborate to ensure that relieve and recovery efforts in Haiti have access to essential satellite communications. [Earth Times – 01/15/2010]
Google and Skype offer free Haiti calls but United Nations Foundation worker says communications systems in Haiti unusable; only staff with satellite phones were able to communicate with outside world. [ReadWriteWeb – 01/15/2010]
Quake in Haiti knocks out submarine cable system, leaving it to rely largely on satellite communications and damaged mobile networks for international communications. [GiGa om – 01/15/2010]
Globecomm Systems receives $9.1M contract extension from NATO to extend communication services and onsite support for Globecomm’s previously deployed GPS-Base Force Tracking System. [TMCnet – 01/15/2010]
ViaSat receives $4.8M order from the U.S. Department of Defense for Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS-LTV) terminals. [Satellite Today – 01/14/2010]
Destruction in Haiti causes array of communications difficulties; water is scarce, cellular and satellite capability spotty at best. [Broadcasting and Cable – 01/14/2010]
Some of first personnel deployed to Haiti included communications specialists from the 1st Special Operations Communications Squadron who included satellite link as part of communications systems set up. [NextGov.com – 01/14/2010]
Intelsat S.A. announces that within hours of first customer request for assistance after earthquake, Intelsat established two communications networks – one C-band and one Ku-band – to provide critical communications links. [Enhanced Online News – 01/14/2010]
Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) is granted a license by the U.S. FAA to operate a commercial, horizontal launch spaceport at Cecil Field, FL. [Satellite Today – 01/14/2010]
Sanswire Corp official describes how lighter-than-air UAV STS-111 could hover over stricken region carrying payload to operate as a relay for cell and satellite phones and provide internet service to relief agencies. [CNN – 01/14/2010]
Russian modules on the International Space Station will realize uninterrupted communications with the ground by 2013. [Space Travel – 01/14/2010]
Russian spacewalkers start up new docking port on roof in International Space Station lab. [space.com – 01/14/2010]
China’s Lunar Probe Project features early guiding satellite, Change-2, whose camera resolution can reach 1 meter as it closes in on the moon. [SpaceMart – 01/14/2010]
Gilat SkyEdge II VST receives latest DVB-RCS compliance certification; first vendor to receive version 1.3 certification which includes DVB-S2 in forward link and Quality of Service for voice, video, and data. [CNN Money – 01/14/2010]
MEASAT announces commencement of service across Africa, Southern Europe, and the Middle East on AFRICASAT-2, in inclined orbit. [SatNews – 01/14/2010]
Hybrid cellular companies could enhance AT&T with satellite service this year, as Terrestar gets FCC clearance to integrate its 20 MHz "S" band spectrum with cellular networks. [Beta News – 01/14/2010]
SkyTrac selected by United Arab Emirates based Aquiline International Corporation to supply SATCOM/flights following solutions for its fleet of ANTONOV-24, ANTONOV-26, and ILUSHIN-76 aircraft. [SatNews – 01/14/2010]
atrexx, a satellite service provider based in Germany, is offering African end-users access to satellite communications via iDirect iNFINITI service after their iDirect5 iNFINITI service on Intelsat-14 was discontinued. [SatNews – 01/14/2010]
TS2 Satellite Technologies introduces new broadband services on Eutelsat EB4 and W6 satellites to soldiers in Afghanistan. [SatNews – 01/14/2010]
Euroconsult announces that growth in the satellite pay-TV market remained strong in 2009 is spite of the economic downturn. [SatNews – 01/14/2010]
Inmarsat announces that its mobile satellite communications services are being deployed to support emergency relief efforts in Haiti. [TMCnews – 01/13/2010]
Globecomm Systems installs 3G core switch to expand its managed wireless business to offer affordable, 3G hosted mobile services to under-serviced areas worldwide. [SatNews – 01/13/2010]
NewCom teams with Hispamar to deploy one-hop in-satellite hub services to Latin American on Hispamar’s Amazonas 2 satellite with on-board intelligent processor. [PR Web – 01/13/2010]
Space Systems/Loral announces that the GOES-10 satellite, originally planned for a 5-year mission tracking storms, hurricanes, and cyclones, has been retired after 12 years. [SatNews – 01/13/2010]
SES Astra 5B, to be launched in 2013, will host a second SES hosted navigation payload for Europe’s Egnos service; the first will be on the SES Sirius 5 satellite to launch in 2011. [Space News – 01/13/2010]
Data Technology Solutions launches low-cost, integrated satellite broadband offering for the maritime market built on iDirect’s Evolution DVB-S2 platform using 24 inch Ku-band antenna. [SatNews – 01/13/2010]
India’s first manned space flight planned for 2013, with two Indian astronauts riding into space aboard a Russian spaceship. [Space Travel – 01/13/2010]
Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) reserves site in Amur Province for 7 years for construction of Vostochny spaceport to begin in 2011. [Space Travel – 01/13/2010]
Southwest Airlines bringing WiFi hot spots to its 737 aircraft powered by Hughes Communications satellite broadband and Row 44 equipment. [Barron’s – 01/13/2010]
Unusual space object resembling something man-made, perhaps a rocket booster, will fly by earth at distance of at least 80,000 miles. [Space Daily – 01/13/2010]
Landsat 5, 26 years old, cheats death once again as a radio declared dead 23 years ago is revived to take over for a radio lost last December; a replacement satellite is at least 3 years away. [Spaceflight Now – 01/13/2010]
Team predicts TESS satellite could locate hundreds of Earth-size planets. [Physorg – 01/12/2010]
C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. delivers iNetVu Mobile antenna systems to New Zealand for government agency emergency communications. [Market Wire – 01/12/2010]
Surrey Satellite Technology scientists are awarded part of contract to build new global satellite navigation system. [get Surrey – 01/12/2010]
ISRO of India plans special third launch pad at its Satish Dhawan Space Center capable of accommodating the proposed Re-useable Launch Vehicle an all future programs of ISRO including manned space flight. [Space Travel – 01/11/2010]
Russia explores nuclear-propelled spacecraft to maintain a competitive edge in the global space race. [Space Travel – 01/11/2010]
India is developing anti-satellite spacecraft employing laser guidance system for kill vehicle. [Space.com – 01/11/2010]
KVH names Harris Electric of Seattle its 2009 Commercial Fishing Dealer of the Year. for exceptional performance in bringing mini-VSAT satellite service to commercial fishing vessels in the Northwest. [PR Newswire – 01/11/2010]
Spacenet selected to provide managed network services by satellite to over 7,000 Regis Corporations locations. [Business Wire – 01/11/2010]
Dish Network, EchoStar, and NagraStar secure another anti-piracy victory as Florida federal court issues a $51M dollar judgment against Robert Ward for posting software on the internet allowing individuals to illegally receive Dish programming. [CED Magazine – 01/11/2010]
DirecTV, Samsung, DreamWorks, and Technicolor teaming to deliver 3D HD movies by satellite to DirecTV customers. [SatNews – 01/11/2010]
V2GO, an international satellite transmission and video production company, unveils its 31-foot uplink mobile truck featuring the FOR-A HVS-300HS compact HD/SD switcher and the MV-410HS HD/SD hiigh-resolution quad multi-viewer. [SatNews – 01/11/2010]
ISRO reviews sophisticated cryogenic engine planned for use in test launch of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-D3 later this year. [Space Travel – 01/08/2010]
While HDTV no enjoys wide acceptance among watchers, with 24 million DTH subscribers moving to premium packages to get HD, the coming move to 3D is unlikely to materialize soon for several reasons. [NSR Report – Global Direct to Home (DTH) Markets, 2nd Edition]
In a war of words at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the two companies are accusing each other of threatening effective operation of broadcast satellites and undermining global industry rules. But behind the rhetoric is the deadly serious business of building investor confidence to finance satellites that cost $300 million each to construct, insure and launch.
Ciel is working with an undisclosed manufacturer on the Ciel 6 satellite, scheduled for launch in 2012.
DirecTV got FCC approval in July to launch the RB-2A satellite. Now called DirecTV-12, it was shipped earlier this month to Kazakhstan for launch in the near future.
Combined with two other DirecTV satellites, it will deliver 200 high-definition channels. The FCC said the new satellite "will stimulate competition in the United States and provide consumers more alternatives in choosing communication services." The FCC must consider major issues in the dispute.
In theory, the two satellites can co-exist in the same orbit path. But that would involve technology compromises to avoid signal interference. The changes could limit the markets each seeks to tap.
With consumers and business demanding more bandwidth-hungry high-definition television, video and Internet services, the battle for spectrum and satellites to support the market is growing.
DirecTV is the biggest U.S. satellite direct-to-home service company with 18 million subscribers, plus another six million in Latin America.
It said recently that two-thirds of new subscribers signed up for high-definition TV and related hardware services in the September quarter, the highest level in company history.
DirecTV generated $5.47 billion U.S. in revenues in the September quarter, 10 per cent more than a year earlier.
Ciel has only one satellite in service but it has some powerful allies. Its investors include Borealis, an arm of the giant Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), and SES Americom, one of the world’s biggest satellite operators.
It won its first Canadian licence in 2004 and launched its first satellite last year to serve an orbital slot off the coast of B.C. It is developing business plans for six more slots awarded by the federal government last year.
It also has a big customer in DISH Network, which is a direct competitor to Direct TV. Calian Technologies manages the Ciel satellite under a long-term contract.
I’m relatively certain Telesat is in this fight, too. EchoStar is on the bench, ready to jump over the boards if required.
Spot LLC, a Globalstar Inc. subsidiary, and DeLorme unveil first handheld GPS with satellite communicator for custom messaging and emergency notification. [CNN Money – 01/07/2010]
Loral and Barrett Xplore to deliver high thoughput satellite Ka-bans capacity for broadband services in Canada. [SatNews – 01/07/2010]
Australia set to launch new satellite to help deliver digital TV to remote blackspots. [Computer World – 01/07/2010]
SSTL has been selected by ESA to supply 14 navigation payloads for the deployment phase of the Galileo satellite navigation system. [SpaceRef – 01/07/2010]
DIRECTV and Panasonic partner to bring 3D TV to the largest audience nationwide for the first time. [SatNews – 01/07/2010]
Newtec set to supply Ka-band ready Sat3Play terminals and hub equipment. [SatNews – 01/07/2010]
Landsat 5 unable to send image data to the ground since December 18; anomaly under investigation by U.S. Geological Survey Landsat Operations Team. [SatNews – 01/07/2010]
DISH network and NewLion partner to distribute certain DISH Network international channels using NewLion’s IPTV service. [SatNews – 01/07/2010]
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite captures image of Snow covering most of England. [SatNews – 01/07/2010]
ESPN plans launch of 3D channel on June 11; channel to broadcast minimum of 85 live sporting events, the first to be the 2010 FIFA World Cup match in South Africa. [KWTX – 01/07/2010]
OmniGlobe Networks intends to procure, launch, and operate a Ka-band Fixed Satellite Service satellite (CANUK-1) over Canada in 2013. [SatNews – 01/06/2010]
Tob Cuban official says U.S. contractor detained last month in Cuba for distributing satellite communications equipment to dissidents worked for American "secret services." [Reuters – 01/06/2010]
Indian test flight of a geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle with a cryogenic engine rocket engine is put on hold to undergo final evaluation, [Space Travel – 01/06/2010]
NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer captures first look at starry sky that it will sonn begin surveying in infrared light. [SatNews – 01/06/2010]
Dish Network unveils TV Everywhere suite, which gives customers access to all of their live and recorded programming on a laptop, mobile device, or anywhere in the home wirelessly, at CES. [CED Magazine – 01/06/2010]
SpaceX completes successful full duration orbit insertion test firing of the Falcon 9 second stage at Texas test site. [SatNews – 01/05/2010]
While EchoStar and affiliate Sling Media are serving as the backbone of Dish Network’s TV Everywhere suite of services, they’re also offering four products for use by other video service providers. [CED Magazine – 01/06/2010]
MTN Satellite Communications expands its maritime VSAT business, opening sales and engineering support offices in Hamburg, Germany. [SatNews – 01/06/2010]
SatMAX, a leading global provider of wireless, non-line-of-sight equipment to extend satellite links, restructures debt in anticipation of expanding globally. [CNN Money – 01/05/2010]
Globecomm Systems receives $9m contract extension from NATO for communications services and on-site support for the previously deployed BPS-based Blue Force Tracking System. [Defense Industry Daily – 01/05/2010]
The United Launch Alliance receives a contract modification from U.S. Air Force for launch services for the WGS-4 satellite expected to launch between December 2011 and February 2012.. [UPI – 01/05/2010]
GulfMark Offshore selects CapRock’s always-on VSAT communications with 24/7 global support to deploy its broadband maritime service in the North Sea. [Business Wire – 01/05/2010]
20 people on board sinking vessel 1200 nautical miles west of Chilean coast rescued with help of Falmouth, UK Coastguard, Chilean Coastguard, and U.S. Coastguard using satellite to relay distress signal. [Falmouth Packet – 01/05/2009]
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Viet Nam okays second communications satellite for the country. [Vietnam News – 01/05/2010]
DigitalGlobe announces full operational status of WorldView-2 satellite, with imagery now available to global resellers, partners, and customers. [SatNews – 01/04/2010]
U.S. Air Force will pay to place its Space Based Space Surveillance satellite built by Orbital Sciences in storage because of continued technical difficulties with the Monotaur 5 rocket that was to have launched the satellite in October 2009, [Space News – 01/04/2010]
Sri Lanka invites two top Malaysian telco operators, Maxis Communications Berhad, and Telekom Malaysia, to invest in Sri Lanka’s first satellite project. [The Star – 01/04/2010]
iDirect acquires UK-based Parallel Limited, the developer of award-winning SatManage network management software suite. [SatNews – 01/04/2010]
AsiaSat signes a capacity deal with Vietnam Multimedia Corp. (VTC) for multiple Ku-band transponders on AsiaSat 5. [Satellite Today – 01/04/2010]
India initiates development of lasers and exoatmospheric kill vehicle that could be combined to produce weapon capable of destroying enemy satellites in orbit. [SatNews – 01/04/2010]
O3b has a good year in spite of the economy7, with SES investing a total of $75m in the company, but the road ahead is not smooth. [NSR report – January 2010]
More and more, developing countries turn to Earth Observation satellites to solve problems, meet new missions, and reach goals (example: success of NigeriaSat-1 and plans for NigeriaSat-2) though not all developing nations have the desire or political will to do it. [NSR Report – January 2010]
U.S. government 20-year program to combine all government and military acquisitions of commercial satellite services, the Future Comsatcom Services Acquisition, may be worth up to $700m a year. [Aviation Week – 12/31/2009]
Intelsat-704 replacement satellite, Intelsat-17, will be built by Space Systems/Loral. [SatNews – 12/31/2009]
U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awards three indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts for Commercial Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (COMSAR) imagery, data products, and direct downlink services. [Satellite Today – 12/31/2009]
Telesat reportedly will purchase a new direct broadcast satellite, Nimiq 6, from Space Systems/Loral. [TMCnet – 12/31/2009]
SES bids successfully for Protostar 2 at U.S.$185m; satellite will be integrated into its fleet to provide incremental capacity over Asia. [SatNews – 12/30/2009]
Congress extends government indemnification of U.S. commercial launches for another three years. [Satellite Today – 12/30/2009]
Broadcasters in the United States and Britain say the Iranian government has been jamming international satellite transmissions into the country. [VOA News – 12/30/2009]
Majority of satellite companies responding to Satellite Today Quick Poll claim their businesses broke even in 2009, compared to 2008. [Satellite Today – 12/30/2009]
Second attempt to launch French military satellite Helios 2B on Ariane 5 after 24 hour delay is successful. {SatNews – 12/30/2009]
DirecTV 12 satellite built by Boeing, launched December 28, delivers its first signals from space. [SpaceMart – 12/30/2009]
Russian scientists to meet in secret to work on plan to save Earth from collision with giant asteroid in 26 years. [PHYSORG – 12/30/2009]
TLC, the winner of a U.S. GSA contract, will sell the SatMAX line of satellite communications extenders to U.S. government agencies and departments. [TMCnet – 12/30/2009]
Bolivia, in cooperative project with China, expects to launch its first telecommunications satellite, Tupac Katari, in March 2010. [Satellite Today – 12/29/2009]
Iran plans to unveil its second homemade satellite, national satellite Toloo, in February. [Satellite Today – 12/29/2009]
ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg interview lays out the ViaSat plan to become a satellite broadband provider with ViaSat 1 and the Wild Blue acquisition. [San Diego Union-Tribune – 12/28/2009]
ORBCOMM settles insurance claims related to failures of a Coast Guard Demonstration satellite and three of five quick launch satellites which were all launched in June,2008; two quick launch satellites are still operating. [TMCnet – 12/28/2009]
Orbital Sciences Corporation and Thales Alenia Space share prime contractor status on contract for new geosynchronous satellite with regenerative system for broadband serving mobile terminals, to be built for OverHorizon, with offices in the U.S., Sweden, and Cyprus. [Space Ref – 12/23/2009]
International Launch Services prepares DIRECTV 12 for launch on December 29. [SatNews – 12/23/2009]
GOES-R gets thumbs up for go-ahead under Lockheed Martin’s contract with NASA. [SatNews – 12/23/2009]
Space debris cause a lot of problems in launching new satellites. [Space Mart – 12/23/2009] Related – NASA and DARPA sponsor first ever international conference on orbital debris removal, seen as a new business area – the big question, who will pay? [Space Mart – 12/14/2009]
Avanti Communications Group of London orders up HYLAS-2 satellite from Orbital Sciences, to be based on Orbital’s STAR 2.4 satellite platform. [SatNews – 12/23/2009]
Chrisar Software Technoligies contracts with Applied Satellite Engineering to develop satellite data solution for whale watchers using Iridium satellites. [Satellite Today – 12/22/2009]
The European Space Agency awards a contract to Ariane 5 rocket manufacturer for early development of new upper stage to increase the launcher’s capacity. [Spaceflight Now – 12/21/2009]
KVH’s mini-VSAT broadband service is granted permanent "Earth Station onboard – Vessel" or ESV license authority after operating since September 2007 under an FCC Special Temporary Authority (STA). [PR Newswire – 12/21/2009
Lockheed Martin completes site acceptance testing over the Inmarsat-4 satellite network and delivers the Global Satellite Phone Service gateway in Subic Bay to Inmarsat. [SatNews – 12/20/2009]
Russia plans research into nuclear engines for spaceships beginning in 2010. [SatNews – 12/20/2009]
Russian, U.S., and Japanese astronauts blast off for Christmas stay on board the International Space Station. [SatNews – 12/20/2009]
North America DBS subscriber disconnects investigated by NSR – steady stream of subscribers switch from one to the other provider as "free" period expires – cumulative subscriber disconnects increased by 9% over past three years. [NSR Report – December 2009]
Helios 2B finally makes it into orbit on December 18, aboard the seventh Ariane 5 launch of 2009. [Space War – 12/19/2009]
Arianespace began 30 year history of launches with first European Space Agency launch from Kourou December 24, 1979 and never looked back. [Space Travel – 12/18/2009]
SES wins auction, gets Protostar 2 satellite for U.S. $185 million; satellite will provide incremental capacity over Asia for SES. [SatNews – 12/18/2009]
Etisalat UAE signs multi-year contract for capacity on Intelsat’s recently launched Intelsat 15 satellite. [SatNews – 12/18/2009]
DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 high-resolution satellite expected to achieve full operational capacity on January 4, 2010. [SatNews – 12/18/2009]
Orbital Sciences is awarded a Phase 2 contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for "Future Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying" (System F6) spacecraft. [SatNews – 12/18/2009]
FCC unveils a list of proposals to meet national broadband plan – FCC raises idea of forcing cable and satellite operators to provide low-cost set-top devices to integrate broadband and video services. [Washington Post – 12/17/2009]
Satellite users may see more sporting events as federal investigators seek to close a loophole that allows cable TV operators to withhold sporting events and programming they own from rival providers. [Tennessean – 12/17/2009]
RT Logic develops software-defined modem for feeder link terminals for Iridium which will be deployed by Iridium at its ground stations. [TMCnet – 12/17/2009]
Satellite TV may be only option for thousands of Hawkeye fans to see their team in the Orange Bowl, as a dispute between Mediacom Communications Corp. and Sinclair Broadcasting Group could leave cable subscribers without local channels. [Forbes – 12/17/2009]
China launches first public-welfare mini satellite from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province. [Space Daily – 12/16/2009]
MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates announces $254 million U.S. contract win to build and launch a communications satellite for the Ukrainian space agency. [Vancouver Sun – 12/15/2009]
Vizada connects satellite service to submarine fiber cable along the East Coast of Africa. [Satellite Today – 12/15/2009]
Iridium OpenPort provides fishing vessels operating in high northern latitudes continuous coverage including 3 phone lines and a data line up to 128 kbps simultaneously. [SatNews – 12/15/2009]
NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer blasted off from Vandenberg AFB on a mission to find hidden asteroids, comets, and other objects never before seen in space. [R&D – 12/14/2009]
IoStar International Ltd. of Hong Kong is using more than a full Ku band transponder on Telesat’s Telstar 18 satellite to serve the communications needs of NATO troops. [Satellite Today – 12/14/2009]
Small satellites grow in prominence and take on a growing number of operational roles alongside their full-size counterparts – a conference next year in Greece will discuss their evolution. [R&D Magazine – 12/11/2009]
China launches remote-sensing satellite, "Yaogan VII", from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province. [Space Mart – 12/11/2009]
Shopping around for HD sports programming options in New York, you’re sure to find out you can’t get MSG-HD on Verizon’s FiOS TV. Why? It’s Jimmy’s channel and he wants it exclusively on Cablevision. Looking to add Comcast SportsNet HD to your DirecTV package in Philadelphia? No, sorry, not available.
How can they shortchange their viewing customers with this tactic? A 1992 law’s loophole. But not anymore as the FCC is looking to close it up quick, via WSJ…
The FCC’s Media Bureau will circulate an order Wednesday that would close the so-called terrestrial loophole used by companies including Comcast Corp., Cox Communications Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp. to withhold local sports channels from rivals, an FCC official said.
If approved, the proposal would mean consumers could soon have more choice in pay-TV services. Sports fans who want to watch local baseball, hockey and other games at home wouldn’t be forced to subscribe to the largest local cable provider anymore.
In Philadelphia, for instance, fans of the Philadelphia Flyers, Phillies and Sixers can’t get games broadcast on Comcast’s SportsNet channel on DirecTV or Dish Network. In San Diego, subscribers to AT&T Inc.’s U-Verse television service can’t get San Diego Padres games, which are carried on a channel owned by Cox Communications.
The FCC’s move would be a victory for Dish Network Corp., DirecTV Group Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T, all of whom have had difficulties at one point or another trying to get programming—mostly regional sports channels—from a local cable provider.
"Consumers shouldn’t be forced to stick with their incumbent cable provider in order to have access to their local teams’ games, or to watch those games in high definition," a Verizon spokesman said in a statement.
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the cable industry’s lobbying group, argued that exclusive distribution of channels "can be a pro-competitive tool."
"Exclusivity allows competing providers to invest in new services that have dramatically changed the marketplace, as can be witnessed by DirecTV’s overwhelming success with the NFL Sunday Ticket package," association spokesman Brian Dietz said.
The FCC requires cable operators to offer access to channels they partially or wholly own to rivals at reasonable rates, but some have used a loophole in a 1992 law to exclude local sports programming.
The loophole allows cable operators to withhold a channel from rivals if it is sent over a cable instead of beamed by satellite. Other pay-TV providers, including satellite TV and now phone companies, have complained to the FCC about the practice for years.
Last year, AT&T filed a complaint against Cox for denying it permission to air San Diego Padres games. Verizon filed a similar complaint against Cablevision for denying it access to a high-definition feed of games from Madison Square Garden.
